I offer developmental editing and line editing for aspiring and independent writers. I particularly like to focus on world-building and creating fully-rounded characters. Like most editors I’m a life-long bookworm, and I love that my work lets me discover new books and new authors before anyone else.
When you receive my notes I want you to feel excited about doing the next round of revisions, not daunted and discouraged. I know that writing can be an incredibly lonely process and I want to work with you to make your book the best it can possibly be. If this sounds like the right creative process for you then read on to see the services I offer, or click here to contact me for a personalised quote.
This is the ‘big picture’ edit. It can be hard to step away from your manuscript and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t, but that’s why you’ve come to me! With this service I will make sure that every scene, character, and emotional pay off packs a punch.
I will:
• Make sure your characters are fully formed, with believable motivations and a satisfying character arc.
• Work on your pacing and remove scenes and characters that break the flow.
• Ensure your world building is woven smoothly into the text.
• Make any other suggestions that I think will help your story come to life.
Once I have read your manuscript in full, you will get an editorial letter containing all of my feedback – what I loved, what needs improvement, and my suggestions on what revisions to make and how to make them.
This service does not include a full line edit but I will add suggestions on specific changes in the text so that you understand what I’m referring to in context.
The time frame for this type of edit depends on your writing and the length of your manuscript, but I will generally aim to have it back to you within four weeks.
Developmental editing is about making your story shine. Line editing is about making your writing shine.
This is heavy duty editing but I will help revise your language without losing your unique voice and style.
I will:
- Help smooth awkward scene transitions.
- Address repetitions, clunky descriptions and overwritten sentences.
- Generally clarify your tone.
- Make sure your details are consistent: e.g. does your hero have blue eyes in one chapter, but brown in the next?
- Address repeated grammar issues and the passive voice.
This is not a proof read, but I will point out if you’re making consistent grammatical errors or misspelling the same word throughout.
I make all edits in Track Changes in Word, along with comments which explain my changes, and you can then accept or reject the revisions as suits you. The time frame will depend on your word count and your writing. I ask for a sample of three chapters so that I can provide you with an accurate quote on the time frame for completion, and the total cost.
If you don’t want to commit to a full edit I also offer a ‘mini edit’ of the first 10,000 words of your novel. I will provide in text line edits focusing on your writing, and a mini editorial report looking at plot and structure. You can then use these notes to self-edit the rest of your novel.